Local mining firm exploits barites ore illegally

Van Son Company has been found illegally mining ore. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — The Van Son Mining Company in the northern Tuyen Quang Province continues to excavate barites ore illegally although the local authorities ordered it to stop.

Local residents of Hop Hoa commune's Tan Trao hamlet in Son Duong district complained that the company had been using noisy digging machines to excavate barites in Tan Trao mine round-the-clock over the past week.

On noticing the arrival of reporters, the company officials immediately shut down all machines and trucks carrying heavy rocks, and quickly left the mining site, leaving behind hundreds of cubic metres of ore piled up in heaps, yet undelivered to the factories.

Chairman of Hop Hoa commune's People's Committee Nguyen Van Hieu said the Van Son Mining Company was granted an exploitation licence by the local authorities in 2006 but the provincial Resources and Environment Department had requested it to stop mining.

"A week ago, the company asked the commune's People's committee to confirm whether it had completed the land lease, land clearance and compensation procedures so that it could continue mining," Hieu said, and added that the People's Committee were unaware of the illegal mining done by the company.

Hieu said the commune would order government agencies to examine the operations of the company and then report to Son Duong district's People's Committee.

An employee of the company Tran Thi Huyen admitted that the company had not completed its land lease procedures.

In 2013, local authorities discovered that the company's total mining area had exceeded the allowed area by 1,000sq.m and it had not yet completed the land acquisition and land lease procedures under the land law.

In addition, the company also arbitrarily negotiated with locals to rent land for exploiting barites, which violated the provisions of law.

Tuyen Quang's Department of Natural Resources and Environment then ordered the company to halt all mining activities at the Tan Trao mine until it completed the land acquisition and land lease procedures. — VNS